The Combination of Gelatin with Hydrochloric Acid

1. Cooper's gelatin purified according to Northrop and Kunitz exhibited a minimum of osmotic pressure and a maximum of opacity at pH 5.05 +/-0.05. The pH of solutions of this gelatin in water was also close to this value. It is inferred that such gelatin is isoelectric at this pH and not at pH 4.70. 2. Hydrogen electrode measurements with KCl-agar junctions were made with concentrated solutions of this gelatin in HCl up to 0.1 M. The combination curve calculated from these data is quite exactly horizontal between pH 2 and 1, indicating that 1 gm. of this gelatin can combine with a maximum of 9.35 x 10(-4) equivalents of H(+). 3. Conductivity titrations of this gelatin with HCl gave an endpoint at 9.41 (+/-0.05) x 10(-4) equivalents of HCl per gram gelatin. 4. E.M.F. measurements of the cell without liquid junction, Ag, AgCl, HCl + gelatin, H(2), lead to the conclusion that this gelatin in 0.1 M HCl combines with a maximum of 9.4 x 10(-4) equivalents of H(+) and 1.7 x 10(-4) equivalents of Cl(-) per gram gelatin.